Intellectual property court on way in Vietnam

Hanoi (VNA) - The establishment of an intellectual
property court in Vietnam is in sight but has yet to be completed, a
deputy chief inspector of the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) has said.

Unlike in foreign countries where the court plays a major role in handling
violations of intellectual property rights, Vietnam’s court system has not
asserted its power strongly on the matter, according to Nguyen Nhu Quynh,
MOST’s deputy chief inspector.

“About 98.4 percent of the violations in Vietnam in the 2012-15 period,
including online infringement, were handled by inspectors from administrative
agencies,” she said.

“There needs be an intellectual property court in Vietnam, but we don’t know when
it will be established,” she said at a conference on intellectual property
enforcement in the digital world held in Hanoi on March 12.

While the prospect of an intellectual property court seems down the road, Quynh
said that it is essential to have a department within the country’s judicial
system specialising in intellectual property.

The practice of electronic commerce (e-commerce) is developing rapidly in Vietnam,
with total retail revenue of 5 billion USD in 2016, a drastic rise from 2
billion USD in 2013 and 1 billion USD in 2012, according to MOST. Forty-nine
percent of enterprises in the country had their own websites, and 32 percent of
them have established business partnerships with foreign counterparts via the
internet.

Online platforms play a major role in reinforcing e-commerce, including online
shopping sites and social media platforms. A survey done by the market research
service Q&Me in 2017 shows that 66 percent of Facebook users in Vietnam
have purchased items over the social media platform, a considerable rise from
47 percent in 2016, Quynh said.

Taking advantage of social media platforms – particularly Facebook –
to do business makes it harder for inspectors to discover violators of
intellectual property rights, she said.

“Several young people are making tonnes of money out of their online businesses
without having to have capital, just a few tricks to increase the number of
‘fans’ on their Facebook pages,” she said. “But a lot of them sell
fake stuff, which is considered an infringement.”

Stronger punishments are needed to regulate the virtual business environment,
she said.

Speaking on domain name disputes, Quynh advised that well-known brands, when
discovering their domain names have been taken by other businesses, should
contact those businesses and warn them of copyright infringement before sending
legal documents and asking administrative agencies to get involved.

“A lot of the times when we conducted inspections, the ‘violators’ did not even
know they had violated the regulations,” she said.

Speaking at the workshop, Tran Van Tung, Deputy Minister of Science and
Technology, said that the inadequate policy system is the most challenging
aspect of intellectual property enforcement in Vietnam.

Apart from well-intentioned firms, many businesses in Vietnam are taking
advantage of the legal loopholes and major brands to sell fake goods and
deliver low-quality services. These firms should receive hefty punishments such
as being taken to court, he added.

“It is of utmost importance to strictly handle infringement and counterfeit
acts in the digital environment, otherwise we will discourage innovation,” he
said. “Intellectual property enforcement is the core of protecting
innovation and strengthening the applications of science and technology to the
development of the country.”-VNA